Government Bills: Public Participation

Graham Allen: To ask the Leader of the House which Government Bills introduced to the House in Session 2007-08 have undergone pre-legislative scrutiny in which the public was able to participate electronically.

Helen Goodman: Four bills introduced so far in the current session were previously published in draft for pre-legislative scrutiny: the Climate Change Bill, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, the Local Transport Bill and the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill.
	Parliamentary pre-legislative scrutiny was carried out by select committees in respect of three draft bills. The Climate Change Bill and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill (then called the Human Tissue and Embryos Bill) were both considered by Joint Committees of both Houses, while the Local Transport Bill was considered by the Transport Select Committee. The Climate Change Bill was also examined by the Efra and Environmental Audit select committees. All these committees provided facilities for outside bodies and individuals to submit evidence electronically. In addition, on-line forums on aspects of the proposed Bills were conducted by the Joint Committees on the Climate Change Bill and the Human Tissue and Embryos Bill. It is the responsibility of individual committees as to how they involve and take evidence from the public.
	In all cases the public consultation by departments on the draft bills included opportunity for the public and interested bodies to submit views electronically. In respect of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill, an online discussion space was also provided on the Cabinet Office website.

Citizenship

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether  (a) participation in the activities of political parties and  (b) preaching of religion by migrants holding probationary citizenship will count as active citizenship, as outlined in her Department's Green Paper, A Pathway to Citizenship.

Liam Byrne: We are proposing that migrants who have demonstrated their commitment to the UK and contribute in a positive way to British society should be allowed to complete the journey to citizenship more quickly than those who have chose not to. The Green Paper sets out a list of activities already in existence which we believe could constitute a good list for would be citizens to consider. This list does not include either participation in the activities of political parties or preaching of religion by migrants. We are inviting views on the type of activities that should be taken into account. We will finalise our proposals—ensuring that only those activities which contribute in a positive way are taken into account—following the consultation period which ends on 14 May.

Departmental Impact Assessments

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many regulatory impact assessments her Department has conducted in the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: Information on the final Regulatory Impact Assessments published between 1 January and 30 June 2007 can be found in Command Paper 7297, available at:
	http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm72/7297/7297.pdf
	For The Home Office, five Regulatory Impact Assessments have been listed. Departments are in the process of identifying the final Regulatory Impact Assessments published between 1 July and 31 December 2007. From April 2008, all final Impact Assessment will be published on a central website.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will break down her Department's outturn by subhead in  (a) near cash and  (b) non-cash terms for the financial years 2001-02 to 2006-07.

Liam Byrne: Near cash/non-cash splits relate to Departmental Expenditure Limit resource budget controls and are not compatible with Supply Estimates which relate to voted resource expenditure.
	The following table assigns the near and non-cash elements of the 2002-07 resource DEL outturns to the related sections used in the Spring Supplementary Estimate 2007-08. The outturns shown take account of all later Machinery of Government and classification changes and are on a basis comparable to that used in the Spring Supplementary Estimate 2007-08. Outturn for 2001-02 has not been included as comparative historical data is only readily available for five past years.
	
		
			2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			   Resource DEL  Near cash  Non- cash  Near cash  Non- cash  Near cash  Non- cash  Near cash  Non- cash  Near cash  Non- cash 
			 A Police 146,881 1,371 109,705 1,636 94,028 926 116,789 1,870 84,211 (5,599) 
			 B Crime reduction 2,458 0 262 0 40,712 7 38,232 0 36,555 1,272 
			 C Criminal Records Bureau 31,768 0 6,261 1,098 (2,347) 1,348 (18,837) 635 (25,393) (1) 
			 C Counter terrorism and Intelligence 79,829 7,320 119,521 11,639 128,036 12,724 154,189 16,265 112,301 0 
			 E Drugs 29,354 0 15,272 0 14,554 21 (8,204) 0 23,204 0 
			 K Border and Immigration Agency 1,515,113 82,825 1,434,049 52,420 1,343,048 17,701 1,280,276 34,798 1,246,394 76,242 
			 L Identity and Passport Service (11,350) 0 (26,639) 4,402 (11,332) 2,660 (30,868) 12,000 8,159 22,237 
			 M Central services 211,147 17,043 198,689 5,516 228,103 13,568 214,619 1,048 222,375 6,075 
			 N European refugee fund 0 0 (16) 0 2,516 0 0 0 (1,015) 0 
			 O Police grants 4,396,974 0 4,891,237 0 4,892,366 0 5,274,990 0 5,257,093 0 
			 P Crime reduction grants 112,416 0 99,002 0 169,487 0 122,923 0 155,232 0 
			 Q Counter terrorism and intelligence grants 51,265 0 82,414 0 215,522 0 288,982 0 264,408 0 
			 R Border and Immigration Agency grants 255,684 0 403,157 0 255,168 0 215,255 0 146,880 0 
			 W Independent Police Complaints Commission 0 0 10,390 0 21,294 2,792 24,059 2,315 28,230 3,042 
			 X SOCA 7,886 0 7,380 0 7,261 0 6,538 0 364,310 22,743 
			 Y Security Industry Authority 0 0 6,836 533 9,071 3,042 1,076 3,389 (1,000) 3,047 
			 AE Office of the Immigration Service Commissioner 3,419 191 3,092 183 3,654 182 (1,547) 1,696 4,260 120 
			 AH National Policing Improvement Agency 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Central Police Training and Development Agency(1) 73,416 16,888 93,246 0 73,934 9,349 91,582 11,217 51,130 19,429 
			  Firearms compensation(3) 63 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Kosovan evacuees special grant(3) 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  National Crime Squad(2) 134,246 6,118 155,741 6,800 155,567 6,200 132,569 19,501 0 0 
			  National Criminal Intelligence Service(2) 58,728 13,861 70,160 12,272 74,706 9,129 69,926 7,980 0 0 
			  Police Complaints Authority(1) 5,234 2,681 5,395 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Police information technology organisation(1) 58,544 1,936 119,845 1,450 166,934 880 193,533 2,580 193,318 10,251 
			  Grand total 7,163,095 150,234 7,804,999 97,949 7,882,288 80,529 8,166,082 115,294 8,170,652 158,858 
			 (1 )NDPB's superseded by the National Policing Improvement Agency (section AH). (2 )NDPB's superseded by SOCA (section X). (3 )Estimate sections that are no longer used.

Entry Clearances: Offenders

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were granted entry clearance or leave to enter the UK  (a) who had and  (b) who went on to gain in the UK a conviction which in the UK would result in at least a 12 month prison sentence in the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: It has been made clear that we will seek to deport those foreign nationals that commit serious crimes within the UK. The chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency has regularly updated the Home Affairs Committee with the most robust and accurate information available on the subject of foreign national prisoners. The information requested would require the detailed examination of individual casefiles at disproportionate cost.

Immigration Officers

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent immigration officers were employed in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The figures for the number of immigration officers (IOs) who have been employed in each year since 1997 are shown in the table.
	Figures provided are for the number of immigration officers as at 31 March each year since 1997, except 2008 where the figures were recorded at 28 February. Data from 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2004 is taken from archived Home Office Personnel system—PIMMS. Data since 31 March 2005 to 28 February 2008 is taken from the Home Office Personnel System—Adelphi.
	
		
			  Date( 1)  I Os all( 2)  I Os active( 3) 
			 1997 1711.1 — 
			 1998 1683.4 — 
			 1999 1617.6 — 
			 2000 1667.9 — 
			 2001 2244.2 — 
			 2002 2459 — 
			 2003 3052.7 — 
			 2004 3469.8 — 
			 2005 3401 3245.3 
			 2006 — 3439.23 
			 2007 — 3575.54 
			 2008 — 3841.6 
			 (1) 31 March data for each year with the exception of 2008 which is 29 February 2008 data. (2) Staff at immigration officer grade, including staff on career break, special leave, maternity leave. (3) Active staff at immigration officer grade, excluding staff on career break, special leave, maternity leave.

Police: Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers there were in Lancashire Constabulary in each year since their inception.

Tony McNulty: The requested data are given in the following table, and are published annually in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin "Police Service Strength, England and Wales", copies of which are available online and in the Library of the House.
	
		
			  Police community support officer strength( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  for Lancashire as at 31 March 2003 to 31 March 2007( 3) 
			  As at 31 March each year  PCSOs 
			 2003 77 
			 2004 110 
			 2005(4) 161 
			 2006(4) 184 
			 2007(4) 374 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Full-time equivalent includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (3) Police community support officers were introduced in statute in 2002, therefore data is not available prior to 2002-03. (4) Strength figures as at 31 March 2005 onwards include those staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Therefore these figures are not comparable with those provided for other years in the table.

Police: Morecambe

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police community support officers and  (b) police officers there were in Morecambe and Lunesdale in the latest period for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: Figures collected by the Home Office relate to basic command units (BCUs) within police forces, and the BCU that most closely matches the Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency is the northern division of Lancashire constabulary.
	The latest figures published by the Home Office for Lancashire northern division relate to 31 March 2007. The data is on a full-time equivalent basis and shows that there were 70 police community support officers and 444 police officers employed on this date. The figures include those on career breaks and maternity leave that were deployed to this BCU when their absence commenced.

Surveillance

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which forms of interception are subject to authorisation by a warrant from her.

Tony McNulty: All interceptions require authorisation by the Secretary of State.
	The Secretary of State will only approve an interception warrant if it is necessary in the interests of national security; preventing or detecting serious crime; or safeguarding the economic well-being of the UK. In addition, the interception needs to be proportionate and the information obtained not reasonably available by other means. Authorisations are governed by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). Interception relates to the content of a communication e.g. what is said in a phone call or written in an e-mail.
	Communications data (CD), however, is data about communications and how they were made, but not what was said or written, and includes: who participated in the communications; how the communication occurred (e.g. a telephone call, text message or e-mail message); when the communication happened (e.g. the date and time of the call and how long it lasted); where the participants in the communication were located when it took place (e.g. the location of the mobile phone which a text message was sent from and the location of the mobile phone which received the text message).

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which units have served  (a) one tour,  (b) two tours and  (c) three tours and more in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan.

Des Browne: This data is not currently held in the format requested. Officials are working to collate this information from a number of sources. I will therefore write to the hon. Member.

Navy: Data Protection

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what contact he has made with the devolved administrations to ensure that child protection measures are in place to protect anyone under 18 whose data were on the laptop recently stolen from a Royal Navy recruiting officer;
	(2)  what steps have been taken to ensure that anyone under 18 whose data were on the laptop recently stolen from a Royal Navy recruiting officer are protected from harm by child protection measures.

Des Browne: holding answer 24 January 2008
	The Department takes very seriously any loss of personal data. My statement on 21 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 1225-27 informed the House of the package of measures, reviews and investigations completed or under way to safeguard information held by the Ministry of Defence. Such measures are supplementary to the existing policies and procedures.
	As I explained in the House on 21 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1235 the loss was a matter for my Department and the UK Government and that if any issue required the involvement of the devolved Administrations they would be told.
	In addition, the Department has taken action to assist all those wherever they live, whose personal data may have been compromised. This includes verification of identity and careful scrutiny to protect personal data from unauthorised access or unlawful processing, including providing banks with the account details (where they were held) in order that the banks can monitor accounts for unauthorised activity. Officials are also in contact with the Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue and Customs, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the Identity and Passport Service and the Border and Immigration Agency. These measures are designed to protect the personal data of all individuals including those aged under 18. The individuals whom the Department has contacted have also been warned to be vigilant concerning unexpected contacts.

RAF Halton: Complaints

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written answer of 7 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2850W, on RAF Halton: complaints, how many individuals lodged complaints in each year from 2003 to 2007; and from how many different addresses such complaints originated in each such year.

Derek Twigg: Data is not held centrally on the number of individuals who have lodged complaints with the Ministry of Defence or Headquarters Air Command known as—(Headquarters Personnel and Training Command before April 2007) regarding flying activity at RAF Halton and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Details of the number of individuals who have made complaints or inquiries regarding flying activity directly to RAF Halton are more readily available and can be found in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of complaints received by RAF Halton regarding flying activity in each year  Number of individual complainants 
			 2003 30 25 
			 2004 133 55 
			 2005 112 62 
			 2006 17 13 
			 2007 38 19

Regeneration: Greater London

Ann Coffey: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will allocate funding to regenerate street and covered markets in the East End of London as part of the hosting of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Tessa Jowell: Street and covered markets play an important part in promoting strong and vibrant communities, diversity, regeneration, and entrepreneurship in their local areas.
	While there are no specific plans to allocate Olympic funding to the regeneration of street and covered markets, the Olympic programme, by its very nature, will contribute to the wider regeneration of the East End of London. I am confident that street and covered markets such as those of Spitafields, Stratford, and Walthamstow; and other such markets held in the five host boroughs, will benefit from the general uplift that regeneration will bring.

Sudan: Overseas Aid

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effects of banditry on the delivery of the World Food Programme supplies to internally displaced persons in Darfur; what estimate he has made of the proportion of food aid earmarked for internally displaced people in Darfur which reached the intended destination in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: All humanitarian agencies operating in Darfur have been affected by insecurity, with implications for staff safety and aid delivery. The World Food Programme (WFP), because of its size and logistical complexity, has been particularly hard hit, with 37 food trucks hijacked since the start of the year and 23 drivers still missing. In January 2008, the last month for which data is available, WFP was unable to reach 133,000 people in Darfur, of their total target of 2 million. As a result of WFP's and other agencies' lack of access to vulnerable populations, malnutrition rates are already climbing over the emergency threshold for the first time since 2004.

Income Support: Lone Parents

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the average number was of children in lone parent families claiming income support in each year since 1992;
	(2)  what the average number was of children in a lone parent family making an initial claim for income support in each year since 1992.

Stephen Timms: Information on people making a claim for income support, initial or subsequent, is not available. People can make a claim but may not be eligible, or may not pursue their claim and records are not kept on the number of claims people make.
	As a consequence information on the average number of children in lone parent families making a claim for income support is also not available.
	Available information on the average number of children in lone parent families who are in receipt of income support is in the following table.
	
		
			  Average number of children in lone parent families in receipt of income support 
			  Quarter ending  Average number 
			 May 1995 1.82 
			 May 1996 1.84 
			 May 1997 1.85 
			 May 1998 1.86 
			 May 1999 1.87 
			 May 2000 1.89 
			 May 2001 1.89 
			 May 2002 1.89 
			 May 2003 1.89 
			 May 2004 1.89 
			 May 2005 1.88 
			 May 2006 1.87 
			 May 2007 1.86 
			  Notes:  1. Data is only available from May 1995 and by quarter rather than on an annual basis.  2. Data for May 1995 to May 1999 inclusive is based on a 5 per cent. sample and subject to a degree of sampling variation. Data after May 1999 is based on a 100 per cent. sample.  3. Data is for lone parents with dependant children aged under 16.   Source:  DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample and 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Poverty: Children

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the Government's policy is on the elimination of child poverty by 2020;
	(2)  whether the Government have amended its target to reduce child poverty by half its 1999 level by 2010.

Stephen Timms: On 12 March 2008 the Government reaffirmed their commitment to halving child poverty by 2010 and eliminating it by 2020 with the publication of "Ending child poverty: everybody's business".
	"Ending child poverty: everybody's business" sets out the government's long-term strategy for achieving those targets and is available in the Library.

Arts: Pupils

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with the Department for Children, Schools and Families on improving access to the arts for school pupils; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 13 March 2008
	We are committed to working closely with the Department for Children Schools and Families on improving access to the arts for school pupils.
	On 13 February 2008 we announced a £25 million Find Your Talent programme of 10 pilots that will trial ways of offering children and young people a range of high quality cultural experiences for five hours a week, in and out of school.
	We have published a prospectus seeking applications from partnerships in local areas around the country, setting out a core range of activities we believe young people should be able to engage with. We are looking for innovative bids that will test different ways of delivering a range of cultural opportunities over the next three years, including ways of ensuring all children are able to experience at least five hours. The pilots will give us the information we need to make decisions about rolling out the offer nationally.
	These pilots will build on the considerable amount of cultural activity already taking place in and out of school and the investment we put into this area. For example we recently announced that we will invest a further £110 million to expand the successful Creative Partnerships programme over the next three years so that it works with more than 2,000 schools per year.

Departmental Consultants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much has been paid by his Department in consultancy fees since its establishment.

Bill Rammell: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created by machinery of government changes at the end of June 2007. Since its inception, the Department has operated a devolved procurement structure for consultancy contracts. There is not central register of contracts let and information on consultancy fees is not held separately for DIUS for prior years, therefore this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, year to date, the Department has spent £2,721,925 on consultancy.

Departmental Impact Assessments

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many regulatory impact assessments his Department has conducted in the last 12 months.

Bill Rammell: Information on the final regulatory impact assessments published between 1 January and 30 June 2007 can be found in Command Paper 7297, available at:
	http://bre.berr.gov.uk/regulation/ria/regulatory_reporting/index.asp
	The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, was created on 28 June 2007. Since then six impact assessments have been completed. This figure includes impact assessments conducted by the National Weights and Measures Laboratory and the Intellectual Property Office, as agencies of the Department.
	From April 2008, all final impact assessment will be published on a central website.

Departmental Travel

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department spent on travel  (a) within and  (b) outside the UK for officials in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage of his Department's overall expenditure was spent on such travel in each such year.

Bill Rammell: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created by machinery of government changes at the end of June 2007. As there is no central departmental register of overseas visits made by officials or travel expenditure by officials both within and outside the UK, this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, all official travel by the Department's officials is undertaken in accordance with rules set out in the departmental handbook.

Departmental Visits Abroad

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many overseas visits by officials in his Department took place in each of the last 10 years; which countries were visited; and how much was spent on such visits in each such year.

Bill Rammell: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created by machinery of government changes at the end of June 2007. As there is no central departmental register of overseas visits made by officials or travel expenditure by officials both within and outside the UK, this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, all official travel by the Department's officials is undertaken in accordance with rules set out in the departmental handbook.

Teachers: Training

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which three teaching disciplines had the highest number of graduates in each of the last 10 academic years.

Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
	This information is not available in the format requested.
	Information on the qualifications of teachers in the subjects they teach in secondary schools is collected in the Secondary School Curriculum and Staffing Survey. This is an occasional survey for which the latest information available is from 2002. The following table provides the number teachers teaching each subject broken down by the proportion at each post A-level qualification level including degree. Degrees are split into those in the specific subject for those entering teaching via postgraduate (e.g. PGCE) routes and those specialising in the subject as part of specialised undergraduate teaching degree (e.g. BEd) As this is from a sample survey the actual number at each qualification level is not available.
	The Secondary School Curriculum and Staffing Survey was repeated in 2007 and the results will be published by the Department in spring 2008.
	
		
			  Teachers in service: Full-time teachers in maintained secondary schools—highest post A-level qualifications( 1)  held in the subjects they teach( 2)  to year groups 7-13, England 
			   Percentages  
			   Degree( 3)  BEd  PGCE  Cert Ed  Other qual.  No qual.  Total teachers (thousand) 
			 Mathematics 42 ± 3 15 ± 2 9 ± 2 7 ± 1 2 ± 1 24 ± 2 28.2 
			 English 51 ± 3 15 ± 2 7 ± 1 6 ± 1 1 ± 1 20 ± 2 29.4 
			 
			 Combined/General science 62 ± 3 12 ± 2 10 ± 2 4 ± 1 1 ± 1 11 ± 2 28.3 
			 Biology(4) 71 ± 5 7 ± 3 11 ± 4 3 ± 2 - ± 1 7 ± 3 5.6 
			 Chemistry(4) 72 ± 5 6 ± 3 12 ± 4 1 ± 1 1 ± 1 7 ± 3 5.2 
			 Physics(4) 63 ± 6 11 ± 4 15 ± 4 3 ± 2 - ± - 8 ± 3 4.7 
			 Other sciences(4) 10 ± 6 4 ± 4 5 ± 4 - ± - - ± - 80 ± 8 1.6 
			 
			 French 54 ± 3 7 ± 2 10 ± 2 3 ± 1 2 ± 1 23 ± 3 16.0 
			 German 47 ± 5 6 ± 3 13 ± 4 1 ± 1 2 ± 1 30 ± 5 6.9 
			 Spanish 37 ± 7 8 ± 4 19 ± 6 - ± - 3 ± 2 33 ± 7 3.6 
			 Other modern languages 18 ± 8 - ± - 9 ± 7 - ± - 3 ± 4 71 ±10 1.4 
			 
			 Design and technology(5) 26 ± 3 20 ± 3 7 ± 2 21 ± 3 2 ± 1 24 ± 3 20.9 
			 ICT(5, 6) 13 ± 2 6 ± 1 8 ± 2 2 ± 1 3 ± 1 69 ± 3 18.9 
			 Other/Combined technology(5) 30 ± 10 13 ± 8 16 ± 7 18 ± 9 2 ± 3 20 ± 9 1.6 
			 
			 Business studies 30 ± 5 11 ± 4 9 ± 3 4 ± 2 3 ± 2 43 ± 5 6.5 
			 Classics 33 ± 7 - ± - 2 ± 4 2 ± - - ± - 63 ± 7 1.0 
			 History 57 ± 4 9 ± 2 6 ± 2 6 ± 2 - ± - 23 ± 3 13.7 
			 Religious education 22 ± 3 8 ± 2 8 ± 2 4 ± 1 2 ± 1 57 ± 4 14.2 
			 Geography 53 ± 4 9 ± 2 6 ± 2 5 ± 2 1 ± 1 25 ± 3 13.7 
			 Other social studies 35 ± 5 6 ± 3 2 ± 2 2 ± 1 - ± 1 54 ± 6 4.9 
			 Combined arts/humanities/ social studies 5 ± 3 4 ± 2 7 ± 3 1 ± 1 1 ± 1 83 ± 5 5.3 
			 
			 Music 59 ± 5 15 ± 4 5 ± 2 6 ± 3 2 ± 2 13 ± 4 6.3 
			 Drama 25 ± 4 10 ± 3 12 ± 3 6 ± 2 2 ± 1 45 ± 5 8.1 
			 Art and design 54 ± 4 10 ± 3 7 ± 2 9 ± 3 1 ± 1 20 ± 4 9.3 
			 Physical education 25 ± 3 31 ± 3 6 ± 2 13 ± 2 2 ± 1 22 ± 2 21.4 
			 Careers education 2 ± 2 1 ± 2 3 ± 3 4 ± 4 3 ± 4 87 ± 7 1.5 
			 PSHE(6) 1 ± - 1 ± - 2 ± 1 1 ± - - ± - 95 ± 1 61.4 
			 General studies 1 ± 1 2 ± 1 1 ± 1 - ± 1 - ± - 95 ± 2 7.1 
			 Citizenship 2 ± 1 1 ± 1 2 ± 1 - ± 1 - ± - 94 ± 2 9.0 
			 Other — — — — — — 32.8 
			 
			 Total(2, 7) 33 ± - 10 ± - 7 ± - 5 ± - 1 ± - 44 ± - 388.4 
			 '-' = zero or less than 0.5. (1) Where a teacher has more than one post A-level qualification in the same subject, the qualification level is determined by the highest level reading from left (degree) to right (other qual.). For example, teachers shown under PGCE have a PGCE but not a degree or BEd in the subject, while those with a PGCE and a degree are shown only under degree. (2) Teachers are counted once against each subject which they are teaching. (3) Includes higher degrees but excludes BEds. (4) Teachers qualified in combined/general science are treated as qualified to teach biology, chemistry, or physics. Teachers qualified in biology, chemistry or physics are treated as qualified to teach combined/general science. (5) Teachers qualified in other/combined technology are treated as qualified to teach design and technology or information and communication technology. Teachers qualified in design and technology or information and communication technology are treated as qualified to teach other/combined technology. (6) Information and Communication Technology is abbreviated as ICT and Personal Social and Health Education is abbreviated as PSHE. (7) 'Other' not included in total percentages.  Source: Secondary Schools Curriculum and Staffing Survey 2002.

Vocational Training: Prisoners

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what skills audits have been carried out on prisoners since 1992; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 3 March 2008
	Prison Service Order 0550 requires that every prisoner's literacy, numeracy and skills needs are assessed as part of the induction programme put in place soon after entering custody. The results of this assessment inform the offender management process and contribute to the fuller assessment of learning needs to inform an individual leaning plan. In public prisons, that fuller assessment is carried out by the provider appointed by the Learning and Skills Council.
	The offender learning and skills delivery arrangements aim to develop a learning plan that is personalised to the needs of the individual learner, subject to the constraints imposed by the secure environment. The focus of the arrangements is on the individual and there has been no general audit of the skills needs of prisoners since my Department took responsibility for the policy in 2001, although the Social Exclusion Unit's 2002 report 'Reducing Re-offending by Ex-Prisoners' drew together a number of data sources to produce an overview of the skills needs of offenders.

Social Exclusion: Elderly

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations accepted by the Government in the Social Exclusion Unit's report, A Sure Start in Later Life, on social exclusion among older people.

Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have made good progress on the recommendations in 'A Sure Start to Later Life'. This has included the successful roll out of LinkAge Plus pilots, the introduction of age discrimination legislation, the new PSA focused on older people (to tackle poverty and promote greater independence and well-being in later life), and the development of a National Housing Strategy for Older People, due to be published shortly.
	The Sure Start recommendations are now being taken forward by the various strands of PSA 17 which is aimed at ensuring that the specific needs of older people are given due priority.

Magistrates Courts: Telford

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many individuals under the age of 21 years appeared before magistrates in Telford in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Data showing the number of defendants aged under 21 who were proceeded against at Telford magistrates court from 2002 to 2004 are shown in the following table. From 1 January 2005 Telford magistrates court was merged with Bridgnorth magistrates court to form Telford and Bridgnorth local justice area. It is not possible to separate those proceeded against at Telford magistrates court from those at Bridgnorth for 2005 and 2006 and combined data is provided in the following table for those years.
	
		
			  Number of defendants aged under 21 proceeded against at Telford magistrates court from 2002 to 2004 and at Telford and Bridgnorth( 1)  local justice area for 2005 to 2006( 2) 
			   Number of defendants 
			 2002 1,275 
			 2003 1,076 
			 2004 906 
			 2005(1) 816 
			 2006(1) 987 
			 (1) From 1 January 2005 Telford MC was merged with Bridgnorth MC to form the Telford and Bridgnorth local justice area. Data supplied for 2005 and 2006 are for the combined LJA and separate data for Telford MC for those years is not centrally available. (2 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Prisons: Islam

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of  (a) the prisoner population,  (b) prison officers and  (c) prison governors have declared their faith as Muslim.

Jack Straw: At the end of June 2006 there were 8,243 prisoners declaring themselves as Muslim in all prison establishments in England and Wales out of a total prison population of 77,982, or 11 per cent. This information can be found in the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2006, a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library and on the Ministry of Justice website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonand probation.htm
	Information on the religion of staff within the public sector Prison Service is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Sufficient information from the contracted out prisons to give a comprehensive response is similarly not available.
	Data from the 2001 Census shows that in the general population of England and Wales, some 1.5 million people (3 per cent.) declared themselves as Muslim.
	The largest group of Muslims in prison are Asian or Asian British. Asian Muslims from the UK account for nearly 30 per cent. of all Muslims in prison.
	
		
			  Nationality  Total  White  Mixed  Asian or Asian British  Black or Black British  Chinese or Other ethnic group  Not Stated/Not recorded 1991 Census codes 
			 Total 8,243 1,167 484 3,652 2,660 189 91 
			 
			 UK 4,958 12 6 48 31 1 1 
			 Pakistan 416 0 1 97 0 0 1 
			 Somalia 322 0 3 5 90 1 0 
			 Iraq 259 16 5 67 1 10 2 
			 Turkey 221 56 6 18 0 20 0 
			 Nigeria 185 0 1 1 98 0 0 
			 Bangladesh 179 1 1 95 3 1 0 
			 Algeria 179 47 14 19 14 5 1 
			 Jamaica 163 1 2 1 95 0 1 
			 Iran 130 16 9 67 2 7 0 
			 Afghanistan 107 18 7 68 1 5 1 
			 Albania 76 85 4 8 0 3 0 
			 France 66 47 12 10 31 0 0 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 51 77 4 4 0 12 2 
			 Unrecorded 177 13 6 40 27 7 6 
			 Other countries(1) 753 14 6 25 49 4 1 
			 (1 )Countries with fewer than 50 prisoners declaring themselves as Muslim are not included. 
		
	
	The higher number of Muslims in prison may partly reflect the age profile of prisoners. Most prisoners are aged between 18 and 34. The following table shows age group and ethnicity for 18-34 males and the proportion of the total male population.
	
		
			   Total  18-34  Percentage 
			 Male total 25,325,926 5,823,040 23 
			 White total 23,104,290 5,155,642 22 
			 Asian total 1,151,561 362,495 31 
		
	
	Prison data have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Probation

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to improve standards of supervision of offenders in the community; and what assessment he has made of the likely effect of changes to the funding of the Probation Service on standards in each of the next three financial years.

Maria Eagle: The National Standards for the Management of Offenders were revised in 2007 and issued by the Minister of State for Justice. Priorities and targets are set each year for the achievement of standards and mechanisms are in place for the monitoring and improvement of performance
	Priorities for achievement of these standards are identified within the annual planning cycle and targets are set by NOMS for probation areas. Compliance with the National Standards and achievement of the targets is monitored monthly based upon an analysis of a sample of case files. This process is referred to as NSMART, taking its name from the spreadsheet into which the results are entered.
	The performance of each probation area is assessed and benchmarked quarterly as part of the integrated probation performance framework (IPPF). Performance reports are published quarterly. These have shown the National Probation Service consistently performing well against the standards and targets set.
	Where individual areas are identified as significantly under-performing, the Probation Performance Improvement Unit in NOMS initiates a targeted improvement programme, which includes an element of sharing of best practice across probation areas, and across related sectors.
	In addition, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation conducts area-based and thematic inspections of probation practice. A national programme of offender management inspections is ongoing at present. The Inspectorate reports to the Minister. Where areas' performance is below standard, an action plan is required of the area and a 12 month follow-up inspection is conducted.
	Probation areas have been informed of their budget allocation for 2008-09. Until January 2008-09 this was a flat cash allocation, but further resources were then made available amounting to a 2.7 per cent. increase to the main resource grant and an average 5.4 per cent. increase to the funding of approved premises.
	The service level agreements that specify how these resources are spent are not yet finalised.
	In addition to the increased budget allocation in January, a further allocation of £40 million for 2008-09 was announced in a written ministerial statement in March 2008
	'so that sentencers can be confident that the resources are in place to deliver effective community punishments.'

Probation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations he has received from probation areas on resources to supervise unpaid work conditions.

Maria Eagle: Unpaid work is a successful community penalty providing a rigorous punishment and tangible benefits to communities.
	A number of probation areas have expressed general concerns about the level of resources. With regard to unpaid work specifically I am aware of a short-term difficulty in responding to demand in one area (Staffordshire) earlier this year and this has now been resolved.
	I have already increased funding by an average of 2.7 per cent. for 2008-09 and increased the approved premises budget by 5.4 per cent.
	The Minister of State announced, on 11 March, an additional £40 million to probation in 2008-09, so that sentencers can be confident that the resources are in place to deliver effective community punishments.

Trials: Newspaper Press

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has made an assessment of the effect that the reporting of the outcome of trials in local newspapers has on deterring criminal activity.

David Hanson: The Ministry of Justice has made no assessment of this. However, current knowledge suggests that a number of factors may be important in incentivising people not to commit crime:
	1. The perceived likelihood of detection and apprehension;
	2. The severity of sanction; and
	3. An awareness on the part of offenders and potential offenders of the 1 and 2 and their ability to act on these.
	The most consistently reliable evidence suggests that the CJS most effectively deters crime by increasing the likelihood, or certainty, of punishment. It is therefore possible that reporting of the outcome of trials in the local press could in principle act as a deterrent but there is no rigorous research to demonstrate this one way or the other.

Vandalism

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) arrests,  (b) prosecutions and  (c) convictions there were for vandalism in (i) Ribble Valley constituency, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) England in each year since 2000.

Maria Eagle: The arrests collection undertaken by the Ministry of Justice provides data on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences), by age group, gender, ethnicity, and main offence group. Information is given in table 1 for Lancashire and England for the number of persons arrested for offences within the main offence group 'criminal damage'.
	Data showing the number of defendants proceeded against and found guilty of criminal damage are given in table 2. The Ministry of Justice is unable to identify cases involving vandalism since both the arrest and court appearance collections are on an offence basis and do not identify the circumstances behind the offences.
	Information is given in the tables for Lancashire and England. Data are not available at parliamentary constituency level.
	
		
			  Table 1:  N umber of persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) of criminal damage( 1)  in Lancashire and England, by period 
			  Period  Lancashire  England 
			 2000-01 3,757 121,600 
			 2001-02 4,808 120,800 
			 2002-03 4,593 123,100 
			 2003-04 6,036 134,500 
			 2004-05 6,627 148,800 
			 2005-06 7,035 156,800 
			 (1) Includes indictable offences for criminal damage and summary offences of criminal damage, £5,000 or less. (2) Estimated.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrate s  courts and found guilty at all courts of criminal damage( 1)  in Lancashire and England, 2000 to 2006( 2) 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			  2000   
			 Lancashire 1,876 1,319 
			 England 53,080 35,322 
			
			  2001   
			 Lancashire 2,067 1,361 
			 England 53,541 34,734 
			
			  2002   
			 Lancashire 2,020 1,352 
			 England 55,681 36,337 
			
			  2003   
			 Lancashire 2,196 1,453 
			 England 57,099 37,979 
			
			  2004   
			 Lancashire 1,856 1,341 
			 England 56,347 40,220 
			
			  2005   
			 Lancashire 1,703 1,268 
			 England 53,635 39,933 
			
			  2006   
			 Lancashire 2,156 1,580 
			 England 52,736 40,333 
			 (1) Includes indictable offences for criminal damage and summary offences of criminal damage, 5,000 or less, and in addition offences under section 19 the Allotments Act 122. (2) These data are on the principal offence basis.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Bank Services: Liechtenstein

Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the authorities in Liechtenstein on identification of British citizens seeking to evade UK taxes; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Suffolk, Coastal (Mr. Gummer) 13 March 2008,  Official Report, column 541W.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what average hourly rate his Department paid to employment agencies for agency staff in each year since 1999, broken down by employment agency.

Angela Eagle: The average hourly rate per agency is commercially sensitive and therefore cannot be disclosed. Data prior to 2004-05 is not held centrally.
	The overall average hourly rate per year is as follows:
	
		
			   Average hourly rate  (£) 
			 2007-08 17.05 
			 2006-07 19.25 
			 2005-06 21.58 
			 2004-05 20.50

Revenue and Customs: Pay

David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria a civil servant in HM Revenue and Customs must fulfil to be  (a) considered for and  (b) awarded a bonus on top of their regular salary.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 7 March 2008
	In respect of the pay framework for the senior civil service, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) 13 March 2008,  Official Report, column 537W.
	For other staff, individual performance is measured against objectives agreed for each performance year. 'Top performer' payments are made to staff who have exceeded these objectives and sustained very high levels of performance and behaviour. In addition, a small number of 'Good Performers' (i.e. those staff who have delivered the required levels of performance against their business and development objectives) receive a payment in addition to their basic pay award if they are on the maximum of their pay range.
	HMRC also operates a recognition bonus scheme which provides an immediate reward, outside the terms of the appraisal system, for the visible demonstration of exceptional performance during the delivery of particularly demanding tasks, projects or situations.

Valuation Office: Visits Abroad

Bob Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Weybridge of 5 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1057W, on HM Revenue and Customs: visits abroad, which overseas destinations were visited by Valuation Office Agency staff in the last 24 months; how many visits were made to each destination; what the purpose was of each visit; and what the cost was to the public purse of such visits.

Jane Kennedy: In the last 24 months, VOA staff have visited America, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, Spain, France, China, Belgium, Finland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Lithuania, Ireland and Hong Kong on official business.
	More detailed information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of tax credit overpayments was in each month since April 2003; how many overpayments were written off in each of those months; at what cost in each quarter during that period; and what the average amount of overpayment written off in each of those quarters was.

Jane Kennedy: Tax credit over and underpayments are established after renewal at finalisation. Information relating to overpayments is therefore accounted for on a tax year basis.
	Information on the number of awards with an overpayment of tax credits, including value, in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 is produced in the HMRC publications "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards. Supplement on Payments In." for each relevant year. These publications are available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm
	The amount of tax credit overpayments written off up to 5 April 2007 and the cost of managing and paying child and working tax credits re shown in note 8.2 and 3 of the Trust Statement to the HM Revenue and Customs Accounts for 2005-06 and 2006-07. These reports are available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/reports.htm

LEAs: Performance

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he is taking to monitor the performance of local education authorities in discharging their functions.

Jim Knight: The performance of local authorities in the delivery of services for children and young people is assessed annually by Ofsted. They also undertake with other inspectorates, a programme of Joint Area Reviews of services provided by all partners in an area. Government Offices and associated field forces, and the National Strategies in respect of standards of attainment, provide ongoing differentiated support and challenge to local authorities.

Academies: Teaching Methods

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of academic lessons are set by ability.

Jim Knight: Our current data—which are taken from Ofsted inspection reports—do not enable us to count or estimate how many lessons in England are set by ability.
	Ofsted collects data on the use of streaming and setting in lessons observed during inspection. Before September 2005, inspectors were usually informed about how classes were organised by means of pre-inspection documentation, discussion with head teachers or teachers' schemes of work or lesson plans. Under the inspection arrangements at that time, all full-time teachers were observed by inspectors. Since September 2005, the recording of class organisation has been based either on discussions with the head teacher or teacher or by reference to the lesson plan at the time of observation. A much smaller number of lessons are observed than would have been seen under the previous inspection framework; therefore, lessons seen may not represent pupil grouping in the school as a whole.
	Prior to 2003-04 lessons were recorded as being setted, streamed, mixed ability or otherwise organised. For clarity, setting is the term used to describe the organisation of pupils in classes on the basis of their prior attainment in the particular subject being taught. The term banding, which is very similar to streaming, is used when the decision as to which pupils are included or not in a class is based on the prior attainment in a range of subjects.
	From 2003-04 the distinction between streaming and setting was removed and instead data recorded on whether the class was mixed ability or setted/streamed.
	The data here described for each year between 1996-97 and 2006-07 were included in the answer given in August 2007 to your parliamentary question number 153953. HMCI Christine Gilbert also wrote to you in February of this year to inform you that there was an error in the figures given for 2005-06 and 2006-07, and the correct figures for the two years were included in that letter.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many Building Schools for the Future projects have been completed in each local authority.

Jim Knight: Building Schools for the Future is a long term educational investment programme that gives local authorities the opportunity to rebuild, refurbish or remodel groups of schools across their entire estate. As such, no local authorities have yet completed their project; the first ones are due for completion in 2009. However, the programme is now making good progress; 72 authorities are now involved in waves one to six. A further 40 authorities are receiving funding for a single school project. Together with academies, a total of around 1,000 secondary schools are currently developing plans for modernisation—almost a third of the total secondary school estate.
	11 schools have been opened to date, and a 12(th) is anticipated by the end of March. It is expected that a further 35 schools will be completed in the financial year 2008-09.
	The schools that are currently open are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Local authority  School 
			 Solihull Solihull Centre for Inclusive Learning(1) 
			 Newcastle All Saints College(1) 
			 South Tyneside and Gateshead Bamburgh School(1) 
			 Sheffield Chaucer Business Enterprise College(1) 
			 Sunderland Oxclose School(1) 
			 Haringey Sixth Form Centre(1) 
			 Bristol Bristol Brunei Academy(2) 
			 Lambeth Elmgreen School(3) 
			 Stoke Birches Head High School(1) 
			 Stoke Sandon High School(1) 
			 Lambeth The Michael Tippett school 
			 (1) Relates to quick wins schools. (2) The first BSF school opened through a LEP. (3) Elmgreen School is new provision that has opened in temporary buildings. 
		
	
	Building Schools for the Future projects have reached financial close in the following local authorities: Bradford, Bristol, Greenwich, Knowsley, Lambeth, Lancashire (phase 1 and 2), Leeds, Leicester, Lewisham, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Solihull, South Tyneside and Gateshead and Waltham Forest.

Gifted Children: GCE A-Level

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many gifted and talented pupils gained three A grades at A-level in 2007;
	(2)  many and what proportion of gifted and talented pupils of the appropriate age took A-levels in 2007;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of gifted and talented pupils of the appropriate age did not go on to study A-levels in the last year for which data is available;
	(4)  how many gifted and talented pupils of the appropriate age gained no GCSEs in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(5)  what proportion of gifted and talented pupils of the appropriate age achieved five A* to C GCSE grades including English, mathematics, science and a foreign language in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(6)  how many gifted and talented pupils received a fixed term exclusion in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(7)  how many gifted and talented pupils received a permanent exclusion in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Schools: Admissions

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools in the maintained schools category have been levying charges on applicants to the school in the last 12 months; and what the type and religious category is of each.

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  further to the written ministerial statement of 11 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 3-4WS, on school admissions and parental preferences for 2008, what estimate he has made of the proportion of  (a) voluntary aided and  (b) foundation schools which were not found to be complying with the schools admissions code; and if he will make a statement.
	(2)  further to the written ministerial statement of 11 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 3-4WS, on school admissions and parental preferences for 2008, which schools in  (a) Northamptonshire,  (b) Manchester and  (c) Barnet were found not to be complying with the schools admissions code; what violations of the code were found in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 11 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 4-7W, on school admissions (strengthening the system), if he will list the schools in Northamptonshire, Manchester and Barnet that  (a) ask parents to commit to making financial contributions as a condition of admission,  (b) do not give looked after children the priority required by law,  (c) ask about the marital status, occupation or financial status of parents,  (d) give priority on the basis of family members who are not siblings attending the school and  (e) interview children.
	(2)  pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 10 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 4-7W, on school admissions (strengthening the system), if he will place in the Library a copy of the letter sent by his Department to Northamptonshire county council, Manchester city council and Barnet borough council regarding the admissions arrangements of schools in those areas.

Jim Knight: As I announced to Parliament on 11 March 2008, we have written to all the schools where we have found evidence of non-compliance with the School Admissions Code and admissions legislation and have asked them to verify our findings. When this process is complete we will release the names of the schools we wrote to and identify those with non-compliant admission arrangements, and will report back to the House.

Schools: Standards

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of the 100 most improved schools based on sustained improvement between 2004 and 2007 are located in London; and what proportion of secondary schools are located in London.

Jim Knight: 21 of the 100 most improved schools based on sustained improvement between 2004 and 2007 are located in London. This figure is based on improvement in the proportion of 15-year-olds (age at start of academic year,
	i.e. 31 August) achieving 5 A*-C grades at GCSE or equivalent, including English and Mathematics.
	There are 712 secondary schools located in London. This is 14.1 per cent. of all secondary schools.

Secondary Education: Admissions

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of children in care, who are starting secondary school in September 2008 have been offered a place at their first preference school.

Jim Knight: Legislation now requires admission authorities to give highest priority to children in care when deciding who should have places if schools are oversubscribed.
	The Department is collecting secondary school preference data from local authorities for the first time this year, which will include the number of families obtaining an offer at their first, second, third or lower preference school in each authority area. However, the data provided will not identify individual or specific groups of children. The data were published on 11 March 2008 on the DCSF Research Gateway:
	www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway.

Secondary Education: Admissions

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many children did not gain a place at their first choice of secondary school in  (a) Ribble Valley constituency and  (b) Lancashire in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many children did not gain a place at their first choice of primary school in  (a) Ribble Valley constituency and  (b) Lancashire in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: This is the first year that local authorities have been required to provide data to the Secretary of State on secondary school offers of made to parents on national offer day. This data was published on the DCSF research gateway (www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway) on 11 March at local authority, regional and national levels. Data has not been collected at constituency level. Figures for Lancashire show that 13 per cent. (1,748) of children did not obtain a place at their first choice of secondary school. We do not collect data relating to primary school offers.

Young People: Crime

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will include issues relating to crime among young people, including anti-social behaviour and knife crime, in the national curriculum.

Jim Knight: The revised curriculum for Citizenship in secondary schools provides opportunities to explore the issue of crime, antisocial behaviour and carrying weapons through an examination of the concepts of democracy and justice, weighing up what is fair and unfair in different situations, understanding that justice is fundamental to a democratic society and exploring the role of law in maintaining order and resolving conflict. Through the concept of rights and responsibilities pupils can explore legal and moral rights and the responsibilities that go with these.
	In addition, the framework for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) provides opportunities for pupils to be taught to recognise and manage risk to help them make safer choices and to recognise when pressure from others threatens their personal safety. Pupils learn about developing relationships, recognising their rights and responsibilities and that their actions have consequences. As PSHE is non- statutory, the implementation of the subject is decided by schools on an individual basis.